Christopher R. Watters, MD

My Locations

Duke General Surgery of Raleigh

3404 Wake Forest Rd
Suite 200

Raleigh, NC 27609-7376

Office: 919-431-9911 Get Directions

Duke Raleigh Hospital

3400 Wake Forest Rd

Raleigh, NC 27609

Get Directions

About Me

Learn More About Me

I have the best job in the world and I love my work. The greatest thing about general surgery is the range of issues that we deal with, everything from lumps and bumps to pancreatic cancer. No two days are the same, but all are exciting. The addition of robotic skills to my armamentarium has opened up numerous possibilities for making complex procedures much less invasive.

School of Medicine Departments and Divisions

Surgery
- Minimally Invasive Surgery

Current Appointments and Affiliations

Clinical Faculty in the Department of Surgery, Surgery, Minimally Invasive Surgery 2025

Languages

English

Areas of Expertise

Gallbladder Disease
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
Hernia Repair
Laparoscopic Surgery
Robotic Surgery

Training

Board Certifications

American Board of Surgery, General Surgery

Residency

General Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, 1983-1991

Education

MD, University of Michigan Medical School, 1983

Fellowship

Surgery (Research), Duke University Medical Center, 1985-1987

Clinical Focus and Research

Publications

Tian, William M., Doreen Chang, Melissa Pressley, Makala Muhammed, Philip Fong, Wendy Webster, Garth Herbert, et al. “Development of a prospective biliary dashboard to compare performance and surgical cost.” Surg Endosc 37, no. 11 (November 2023): 8829–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-023-10376-4.
Tua-Caraccia, Rafael D., Eric S. Adams, Christopher R. Watters, and Aaron C. Lentz. “Management of urologic prosthetic reservoirs at the time of inguinal or pelvic surgery.” Sex Med Rev 11, no. 4 (September 27, 2023): 431–40. https://doi.org/10.1093/sxmrev/qead018.
Farouk, M., G. D. Branum, C. R. Watters, G. Cucchiaro, M. Helms, R. McCann, R. Bollinger, and W. C. Meyers. “Bile compositional changes and cholesterol stone formation following orthotopic liver transplantation.” Transplantation 52, no. 4 (October 1991): 727–30.

Ratings and Reviews

The Patient Rating score is an average of all responses to care provider related questions on our nationally-recognized Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survey. Learn more about our survey process. Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.

Overall Provider Rating

4.81 out of 5

697 ratings, 61 reviews

Patient Reviews

Patient comments are gathered from our Press Ganey Patient Survey and displayed in their entirety.
Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy

Insurance

Duke Health contracts with most major health insurance carriers and transplant networks, including the ones listed below. Before scheduling your appointment, we strongly recommend you contact your insurance company to verify that the Duke Health location or provider you plan to visit is included in your network. Your insurance company will also be able to inform you of any co-payments, co–insurances, or deductibles that will be your responsibility. If you proceed in scheduling an appointment and your health insurance benefits do not participate with Duke, your out of pocket liability may be higher. We will contact you regarding your coverage and patient liability. If you are uninsured, learn more about our financial assistance policy.

Aetna
- Aetna Choice POS, Aetna Choice POS II
- Aetna Medicare Assure Plan (HMO D-SNP)
- Aetna/CVS Health
- Aetna Elect Choice HMO, Aetna Open Access Elect Choice
- Aetna Health Network Only, Aetna Health Network Option
- Aetna HMO
- Aetna Limited Benefit Insurance PPO
- Aetna Managed Choice POS
- Aetna Medicare Value Plan (HMO)
- Aetna Medicare Essential Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Eagle Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Open Access HMO, Open Access Aetna Select, Aetna Open Access Select, Aetna Open Access Managed Choice
- Aetna Open Choice PPO
- Aetna PCP Coordinated POS Plan
- Aetna Quality Point of Service (QPOS)
- Aetna Select HMO
- Aetna Traditional Choice
- Aetna Voluntary Indemnity Group Plan
- Aetna Whole Health – Duke WakeMed WKCC
Ambetter
- Ambetter of North Carolina
Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC
- Blue Advantage
- Blue Medicare (HMO, PPO)*
- Blue Options (123, PPO, HSA)
- Blue Select
- NC State Employees Health Plan
- *Duke HomeCare and Hospice does not participate in the plan.
CIGNA
- Cigna Behavioral Health (*Limited eligibility)
- Cigna Choice Plus
- Cigna Connect Individual Family Plan
- Cigna Open Access
- Cigna Open Access Plus
- *Please call Cigna Behavioral Heath to see if the provider is participating in your plan.
Duke Group Plans
- Duke Basic
- Duke Select
Experience Health
- Experience Health Medicare Advantage (HMO) Plan
First Health
Gateway Health Alliance
Halifax Physician-Hospital Organization
- Halifax Physician-Hospital Organization plans*
- *This plan is only accepted at Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, Duke Raleigh Hospital, and Duke HomeCare & Hospice.
Healthgram

Humana
- Humana Choice (PPO)
- Humana Choice - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana ChoiceCare - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana Gold Choice - Medicare Advantage (PFFS)
- Humana Gold Plus - Medicare Advantage (HMO)
- Humana Medicare Advantage Group Plan - NC State Retirees
MedCost
Medicare
- First Medicare Direct
- Medicare Part A
- Medicare Part B
MultiPlan / Private Healthcare Systems
NC Medicaid
- WellCare of North Carolina
- UnitedHealthcare Community Plan
- NC Medicaid Direct
- Healthy Blue
- Carolina Complete Health
- AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina
OneNet PPO
Optima Health
- FAMIS*
- Optima Family Care (Medicaid HMO in VA)*
- Optima Individual & Family (On & Off Exchange Plans)
- Optima Plus (PPO)
- Optima Vantage (HMO)
- *Duke Primary Care, Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, and Duke Raleigh Hospital are not participating with this plan.
TRICARE
- TRICARE Prime
- TRICARE Prime Remote
- TRICARE Select
United Healthcare
- AARP Medicare Advantage Plan 2 (HMO-POS)
- AARP Medicare Complete (HMO, PPO)*
- AARP Medicare Complete Essential (HMO)*
- All Savers Alternate Funding
- All Savers Fully Insured
- United Healthcare (HMO, PPO, POS)
- United Healthcare Charter/Charter Balance/Charter Plus
- United Healthcare Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Core/Core Essential
- United Healthcare Navigate/Navigate Plus/Navigate Balanced
- United Healthcare Option PPO
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Options PPO
- United Healthcare Select/Select Plus
- United Healthcare Shared Services - Harvard Pilgrim/UHC Options PPO Network
- United Medical Resources (UMR)
- *Duke HomeCare and Hospice and mental health providers do not participate with the plan.

External Relationships

Duke requires faculty members to report certain relationships outside of their employment in order to ensure potential conflicts can be addressed. This faculty member has reported no outside activities that relate to their Duke responsibilities.